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Nah that's it for me too... It's just bum dyno and listening out for rattles... Works ok and beats $150 every time I want to chuck it on a dyno... Still tempted though. Maybe I don't want to know how much power my wags doesn't make What I have done is hook up my AC switch to the retard function not only as a way of killing the pinging if I get shit fuel but also as a tuning device to see if it makes a difference while driving.

The dip in the curve should coincide with the peak torque. With my little cam, (206/214@0.050") that happens between 1500 and 3800. Up top it starts tapering off so I can dial in more timing than I could with something that has bigger lungs. I aim to keep the curve as simple as possible so I don't go complicating things when trying to make adjustments. After all, it's just a family car with a bit of character and fun factor.

I'll try and do a screen dump instead of a shitty photo

One of my many curves saved:

Dizzy: map sensor: modded dizzy cap: MSD box mounting:

Oh yeah and I extended my rotor tip too by soldering on a little "wing" of brass to allow for the extra range of timing, but you can't go too crazy as it will crossfire to other cylinders if it's too long. Mine's probably about 5mm longer than the rotor tip.

G'day Cav yeah mine's a very early ProCrap billet MSD copy, Uses an old GM points-style cap. No vac advance, weights are removed and shaft welded to advance plate. It's running sweet now, but about a month ago I had to bump it back a tooth on the reluctor splines to retard it in relation to the rotor. Problem was when cranking it was advanced so much it was firing on the next cylinder and the engine was smacking itself in the head. The best way to dial in your rotor phasing is to sacrifice a dizzy cap and drill a hole right above #1 terminal so that both rotor tip and cap terminal are visible. Using a timing light, run the engine and see whereabouts your spark lies between the two when it occurs. The timing light will capture that exact moment and you'll know how far to advance or retard the pickup. Not sure about yours, but my dizzy has a splined shaft that the pickup is lightly pressed onto. It can be tapped down off the shaft with a couple of screwdrivers, rotated freely to the right spot, then levered back up again, all without removing the dizzy or even moving it. I'll get you some pics as soon as I get a chance. As for your tune, that sounds pretty good but if you've got a bit of a cam, it will tolerate quite a lot more initial, say about 25, then 35 total. I'd only run that once you get your map sensor hooked up. Honestly, that's the key to great driveability. I had mine hooked up as soon as I had the dizzy in, and it allows me to have sweet cruise/idle performance while getting the timing right at WOT. It cost me all of 16 bucks at the wreckers, it's from a Barina, but any Commodore or GM car should have one. Make sure it's an N/A model as you'll want the 1-bar sensor, as they can go up to 3-bar for blown/turbo setups. Just plug the bastard in and unlock your full potential. I even dialled in a heap of retard on overrun to give it some burble... A wank I know but I did it just because I can!

I think Bosch injector plugs are all the same except in US. I've even seen them on Rexroth hydraulic parts.

Bosch part numbers;<br />0 280 150 726 - XF 196 cc<br />0 280 150 790 - EA-EL 191cc0 280 155 844 - AU 193 cc<br /><br />They will all fit in the same hole too

You'd be surprised at what injectors will substitute for them without any dramas at all. Flow rate is most important, spray pattern less so. My 2.6 Courier took smaller 4AGE corolla injectors (downsized for economy) and runs fine, if a little lean at idle. A bit more research might get you what you want... Took me a while but I got there

Yeah that's pretty much it, that and the fact that the alloy and the steel seats have different expansion rates from heat. Such heating/cooling cycles would cause the pressed-in seats to stress the surrounding alloy to the point where the weakest section gives out.

Not sure of the sensitivity but modern common-rail diesels use a water trap sensor in the bottom that uses this principle (instead of the old float system)... maybe that could work

I replaced my clutch master last year and used the normal DOT4 stuff and chewed it out within 6 months, alloy particles all through it and leaking out the back. Bore was fucked, cup seal totalled. To keep it alive in the meantime, I shoved some 46 hydraulic oil (similar to ATF) in it. Worked like a charm and the rubber parts seem happy. Fuck the brake fluid... In this case it simply had zero lube properties and fucked a brand new cylinder. I'm still using hyd oil now with yet another cylinder and I'm never going back to brake fluid, at least for this purpose, ever again.

Alloy is a wonderful thing to be able to repair. I've seen a bloke resurrect a Suzuki drag bike engine that had Chernobyled itself with a valve head breaking off and punching into the head. Pulled all the steel bits out, built up the mess with fresh alloy and ground back and re-machined it like a bought one.

I had the sump off mine a couple of weeks back to do an oil pump. Quite easy if you just take out the through bolts on the mounts and loosen the mount bolts on the block (they interfere with the sump rails by a bee's dick). Hoist the engine up till something goes crunch then back it off a bit then off she comes. Gotta ask though, if your oil pressure stays good all the times, ie accelerate, slow, left, right, then is it all worth the hassle? I reckon if it's not an issue then it's not an issue. Of course if you lay awake thinking about it, then ok, might be better off doing it. Total turn-around should be about 4 hours.

As well as the cable becoming less springy, the clutch surfaces will flatten out as they wear in, requiring less travel to completely disengage.

Maybe being a new cable it might take a bit of stretching for it to settle down nice and firm, especially if it's the longer one (Series 2 XF onwards)

Was the clutch brand new? A worn one will need excessive travel to disengage. Could the driven plate be warped, causing drag?

G'day guys just wondering what you all thought of those "umbrella" type valve stem seals and how well they work on a Clevo. My engine's only 30,000 km old but uses a litre of oil every thousand. Gives a big puff of smoke on hot startup and you can smell the oil in the exhaust at idle. I've got 2V irons with what looked like hardened seats. Could the head reco place have used old worn-out valves and guides? How do the umbrella seals work when they rely on gravity and the oil falling downwards around them yet the valves sit nearly sideways (like on a Clevo)? It's like standing out in the rain with your umbrella tilted at 45 deg.

Good advice there BBS, put that one about magnatec in the old memory bank. Mine blows a puff for a couple of seconds on hot startup but once underway, she's clean as a whistle. Especially so when doing the headlight test at night: nail it away from the car behind and look for a cloud in front of their headlights... Nothing!

I've done nothing to the engine as far as oil drainbacks/smoothing, etc at all. It's just a healthy little 302 with a little cam, built for cruising and nothing over 5500 rpm. It just uses a bit of oil. Everything else is pretty good.

Yes Ando I do agree, especially with the last bit, I saw the oil coming out of my rockers when I had the covers off and it absolutely pissed out the top of each pushrod hole and I thought that was from too much pressure. I briefly looked at my old oil pump and there was some scoring on the relief piston and the rotor was pretty fucked too so I think it's copped some metal from the first cam and lifters that got totalled. I did notice that my oil thinned out very quickly and it wasn't from dilution, maybe your aeration problem is what happened. I noticed too that when the oil was a bit low, I'd get starvation under braking and right hand corners. Maybe my pickup was a bit skewiff sucking air?

Having a sticking relief valve in my oil pump made the pressure high all the time and maybe worked the oil too hard, breaking it down very quickly. After replacing that, I'll see if my oil lasts longer.

Yeah that's what lead me to believe it was valve seals/guides in the first place. Maybe I can switch oils next service and see what happens. Last lot was Penrite HPR30 which is 20W60. Lasted allright but when gradually topped up with (I think) Castrol 15W40 or similar it chewed through it much more quickly. I've tried a few different brews, even a mono grade 50 meant for Detroit Diesels. Not a good choice in winter.... It flows like diff oil when cold.

Yep you are right Polson, 6 cyl 4800, V8 5200. Easily changed with 2 mini Philips head screws holding the face on. Otherwise you can just re-colour it or ignore it like I do